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2stop · 01-13-2004, 09:37 AM

Do you have any info on driving phobias? and treatments/methods that helped people get back to driving again? I sure would appreciate any info you can find...thanks MG..

***hugs***

01-13-2004, 04:18 PM

I found this article

Afraid to Drive
by Peggy Elam

Some people's fear of driving is related to being nervous or anxiety-prone in general, or to not having very much experience driving. They may be afraid of having an accident and tend to "freeze up" and feel incompetent when even thinking about driving. Other people develop a phobia about driving after they've been in an accident, whether as driver or passenger, or have witnessed or been affected by someone else's accident.

Regardless of the origins of your fear, there are several possible routes you might take to overcome it. One might be to face your fear in a safe (and, if need be, supportive) setting, and gradually desensitize yourself to driving by first practicing in an area without much traffic -- such as a quiet neighborhood or an empty parking lot -- until you grow comfortable, and then moving on step by step to more challenging arenas. In this scenario, you'd leave as the last step whatever scares you the most ... driving on an interstate during rush hour, for instance, or navigating downtown city traffic. The key is to first become adjusted to driving in one situation before moving on to tackle the next. You can make the steps or the pace of tackling them as slow as you want to.
Another possibility is to see a counselor who has expertise in helping people get over fears and phobias. You can call the psychology department of your nearest college or university for a referral, or ask your physician, or contact your local community mental health center. Behavior therapy (of which the desensitization process I outlined above could be a part) is often helpful in overcoming phobias. So is a relatively new therapeutic technique some people refer to as psychological acupressure techniques, in which the individual focuses on the fear while tapping on points on the body's acupuncture meridians (channels for the subtle energy which flows throughout our bodies).

2stop · 01-13-2004, 04:23 PM

Thanks for this MG!!

01-13-2004, 09:37 AM	#1 (permalink)
2stop ~Author of My Life~ Join Date: May 2003 Location: Doing what I thought I couldn't.... Posts: 4,794	Morning Glory.... Do you have any info on driving phobias? and treatments/methods that helped people get back to driving again? I sure would appreciate any info you can find...thanks MG.. *hugs* __________________ Many Hugs and Hope too, Tammie "Think of all the beauty still left around you and BE HAPPY." ~Anne Frank~ "Things do not change, WE change." ~Henry David Thoreau~

01-13-2004, 04:23 PM	#3 (permalink)
2stop ~Author of My Life~ Join Date: May 2003 Location: Doing what I thought I couldn't.... Posts: 4,794	Thanks for this MG!! __________________ Many Hugs and Hope too, Tammie "Think of all the beauty still left around you and BE HAPPY." ~Anne Frank~ "Things do not change, WE change." ~Henry David Thoreau~

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01-13-2004, 04:18 PM	#2 (permalink)
Morning Glory Guest Posts: n/a	I found this article Afraid to Drive by Peggy Elam Some people's fear of driving is related to being nervous or anxiety-prone in general, or to not having very much experience driving. They may be afraid of having an accident and tend to "freeze up" and feel incompetent when even thinking about driving. Other people develop a phobia about driving after they've been in an accident, whether as driver or passenger, or have witnessed or been affected by someone else's accident. Regardless of the origins of your fear, there are several possible routes you might take to overcome it. One might be to face your fear in a safe (and, if need be, supportive) setting, and gradually desensitize yourself to driving by first practicing in an area without much traffic -- such as a quiet neighborhood or an empty parking lot -- until you grow comfortable, and then moving on step by step to more challenging arenas. In this scenario, you'd leave as the last step whatever scares you the most ... driving on an interstate during rush hour, for instance, or navigating downtown city traffic. The key is to first become adjusted to driving in one situation before moving on to tackle the next. You can make the steps or the pace of tackling them as slow as you want to. Another possibility is to see a counselor who has expertise in helping people get over fears and phobias. You can call the psychology department of your nearest college or university for a referral, or ask your physician, or contact your local community mental health center. Behavior therapy (of which the desensitization process I outlined above could be a part) is often helpful in overcoming phobias. So is a relatively new therapeutic technique some people refer to as psychological acupressure techniques, in which the individual focuses on the fear while tapping on points on the body's acupuncture meridians (channels for the subtle energy which flows throughout our bodies).

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